Yearbook Snapshots: First Day Jitters
by Beautybedamned
Summary: [Hellions, otherearth626 'verse] Sometimes you've got to prove you can.  Includes OFC Lee Delgado.


The first time they train with Lee, they're like machine gears with a wrench thrown in -- awkward, far from fluid and messy, messy, _messy_. The newbie is a _kid_ as far as Julian is concerned, and even Lance, with his abundance of patience, finds that he has very little left after going three rounds with something as simple as running the jungle course -- creatures included -- his ass kicked each and every time.

"Look, Lee," Julian begins, walking over, limping just slightly as the Danger Room reverts back to it's sparse and drab decor of metal and bolts. The hardlight scenario fades back into nothing and the four other Hellions are either on their butts, or flat on their backs. Lee Delgado, the supposed sixth, is standing with her shoulders slouched.

"You wanted _in_ on a squad, you have to _move_ like the squad." His tone is harsh and frustrated, "You're gonna get us _killed_, you know that?"

Cessily wants him to tell him to stop, to shut up and see just how unnerved their newest member is. She's been keeping tabs on Lee the whole time, though she can't help but lose sight of the small girl when the vines begin to move, revealing themselves as twenty-foot long Savage Land snakes.

"Miss Frost!" He shouts, turning his face to the viewing area high above, the glass tinted keeping the figures obscure. "She isn't cut out for this!"

"_That's not your decision to make, Mr. Keller. Now prep your team. I will run the scenario again. Lee, you would do well to pull yourself together._"

Cess notes the near-hesitant nod. The way Lee seems to stand a ways off still from the rest of them in basic formation. "Be nice, Julian." She murmurs to him as the illusions come to life before them: the smell of earth and wet atmosphere, the sound of wind threading back and forth through crisp leaves, the hush and hiss of a million different soft sounds that fill the world around them.

"Nice never got us anywhere Cess." He mutters back as they make their way through the underbrush, senses alert, commlinks switched on in case something big and ugly or otherwise breaks the six of them apart. "Quit looking out for her. You nicked your uniform back there just pulling her out of harm's way."

"It's just clothes. And she's a _Hellion_ now, Jules." She replies, the stress on their squad name implying that simply being a part of them should be enough to look out for each other.

"Only for the last three days." Comes the soft snort.

"Give her time. We weren't this good back when we started."

"She's a nuisance in training. I don't see why she should be pulled in for us instead of Victor."

"Because Vic expressed a big, fat no to being an X-Man, remember?"

"Still, Miss Fro--"

"**_LOOK OUT!_**" Dallas' shout has them all flat on the ground even as a sudden screech pierces the air. "I swear to God, this place is totally fucked up. Did you see the _size_ of that thing?!" Lance and Santo trail after him, huddling close to where both Julian and Cessily have set up beneath a half-dead tree.

"Looks like a cockroach. Big one." Santo mumbles as he crouches as best as he can. His big frame is not much for stealth as it is for strength, but just maybe, the rockish quality to his features, nevermind the bright red uniform, can be a camouflage of sorts. "Could probably swallow Dallas here in one go."

"Shut up."

"Where's Lee?" Lance stands, but the deafening drone of gigantic wings has him and everyone else covering ears again and he all but drops down beside his peers.

"I AM GOING TO KILL HER FOR FLAKING OUT ON US AGAIN." Julian shouts over the noise, the heels of his palms pressed so hard against the openings of his ears. His head feel like it's going to explode and as much as he might want to crush the enormous bug with a closing motion of his fingers, he doesn't want to take the chance of letting the unbelievably nauseating sound through. "THAT'S IT," He continues, his throat sore from the effort. "I'M PETITIONING HER REMOVAL FROM THE--"

And then all sound dies in a fashion so sudden it's eerie as hell. And for a moment, Cessily thinks that maybe the noise has finally burst her eardrums, though there's no pain just yet.

"You guys want to kill it now?" Lee's voice cuts through the silence the way black lines slice the pristine quality of white paper. They see her crouched not five feet away, the distance too far for her voice to sound as though she were right beside each of them, talking straight into their ears. There is a glimmer of sweat on her forehead, and her eyes are wide, trained on the creature that seems to sniff this way and that. "This is kind of painful, you know." She looks paler than usual, an indication of strain.

Lance smirks. "Well, I'll be." His fingers fisting, causing a slight tremor to the ground beneath. "What now?" He asks Julian. "Do I shake and break?"

But the self-named Hellion just rolls his eyes, reaches out to thin air, fingers spreading wide and then closing abruptly, focusing his teke towards the creature. In mute, the bug crumples into itself, as if a giant hand has covered it whole. When Julian opens his hand again, it flops limp to the ground, a heavy load that shakes the ground beneath.

When he turns his eyes back to the girl now maneuvering through the tangle of fallen branches, protruding roots and other such things, his expression is cool and composed. "Freaky." He nods to Lee as she straightens up infront of him, the expectant look in her eyes making her look much younger than her age. "You wanna bring the sound back now, Delgado?" Julian asks, gesturing around them by drawing an upright circle with his finger.

And Cess can't help but smile in fascination, the sound gradually filtering back to make the world more real, more concrete.

"_Well done, Lee, Julian. Hellions, take lunch. Cyclops will see you back in this room in an hour and a half. Wolverine will be training you for the rest of the afternoon._"

And then the room is just a room -- incredibly big and shiny like just-buffed silver, rounded and curved at the top. "Nice move, Lee." Lance says, ruffling the girl's already mussed hair. "You need to tie that back. Gets in the way." Cess smiles as the boy points to his own ponytail before he slings an arm around the girl's shoulders. "Dallas, you comin'?" He calls back and instantly, the blond-haired boy falls into step, flanking Lee on the other side. Santo takes up the rear, completing the trio.

Cess turns to Julian then, her arms crossed loosely over her chest. "They're taking to her, Jules. Still filing that petition to kick her out?"

The headlock catches her off-guard, never mind that it's become a constant.

* * *

06. what now? (Hellions, otherearth626 continuum on LJ); written for the 50 Prompts challenge, pairing/characters Cessily Kincaid & Julian Keller. 

The original Lance Alvers (Avalanche) is a character featured in the animated series X-Men: Evolution. He is appropriated and modified for otherearth626 because hell -- IT'S LANCE, but we give credit where it is due. Since we also wanted to keep the original 616 Avalanche, the New Mutants member Rictor has been pulled from the 626 character roster, allowing Lance to become "Richter". This character is used without permission, no money made, just love provided for a character that deserved a second shot at things, really.

Lee Delgado is an original character created for otherearth626. Credit to Beautybedamned/Noelle Pico.


End file.
